The Spring Suit: Muslin 1 and Why It's Good to be Short

Today is muslin fitting 1. Tabula rasa, as it were, for this season's tailoring project. To prep for this, I've cut the muslin fabric and carefully marked it up with just about every conceivable line. 

Yeah, this was as painful as it looks - and I haven't even sewn the fucking thing.

I even added additional lines, which will facilitate reflecting alterations from the muslin to the paper pattern: a horizontal balance line (HBL) above the bust, an HBL above the waist and the 5/8" stitching line. S and I are using, among other methods, the Sarah Veblen "fitting axis" approach. The idea is to ensure that the HBLs, drawn onto the fabric before sewing, are rendered perfectly level during the fitting process (whatever alterations are required to obtain the fit). The lines highlight drag or pull (which can occur for any number of reasons and which, therefore, must be carefully considered before applying a correction).

If I sound psyched about this, it's only the hummingbird-like frequency of my anxiety taking centre-stage. I'm afraid, even as I'm excited by the process. What if this pattern treats me like the last one? I mean, I know I'm working with a design that's tried and true and written by an expert. Frankly, merely if the notches align, I'll be 100 per cent ahead of the game over last time. But I know I'm multi-sized in a fitted, tailored jacket. I mean, seriously, body-types such as mine are the reason that knits were invented! (Look, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

In the construction of the last jacket, you might recall we needed to shorten the waist, increase the full bust AND decrease the upper bust (you heard it right - I had to do an FBA and an SBA in the same freakin' five-inch zone), plus adjust the sleeve to account for shoulders that rotate forward slightly. And those were simply the big ticket alterations!

And never mind me - this time I've got someone else's body to consider! I mean, people, it's not like I've got a degree in fashion design!

This is as good a time as any to touch on the concept that becomes ever-more apparent with each passing project - and especially as I learn more about my tall sewist friends. I am 5'3" with a curvy frame. By that I mean my breasts take up a lot of circumference (relatively) but my shoulders and my waist are narrow. Effectively, I'm a short and narrow person and my shortness is all in my torso (but I'm not that tall so my proportionately-long legs are still not tall). 

S is a tall, very slender, person. She's 5'8" with a straight frame. By that I mean she is willowy, but with width in her upper back. She is also long in the torso. And she has net long legs given that she's reasonably tall.

Guess who needs more fabric to make a suit? Um, that would be the exceedingly slender one. 

Generally, I can get away with removing at least 3/4 of a yard of fabric from a suit pattern: jacket and associated bottom (either pants or skirt). We measured my neck-nape to waist and, seriously, it's so short, it's not even on the Vogue chart (13.5 inches). Think about it: When you cut fabric, you generally have enough width - especially if the bolt is 60 inches wide - to cut far more widely than you need to. Hence, all of those crazy selvedge-side scraps. My boobs are the beneficiary of that! On the flip side, what are you most concerned about, tall ladies? Not having enough length for that hip-length jacket or that pair of pants! Sorry, tall girlz. Those pants just kill the budget with the extra yardage you require.

Where's the justice in that? Well, technically, you have height so I find it hard to feel bad for you. But next time you're feeling sorry for me, just remember I save the cost of a sweet little shirt with every suit. Now if only I could figure out how to fit it.

An Update on Intarsia

Well, here I am, still in January, and somehow I've crossed off the sock-making goal and I'm moving forward, if slowly, with the knitting colour-work one. What the hell is going on here??

Anyway, as luck would have it, I got a gift card to the book store for Xmas, so I decided to buy this:

Photo from Chapters-Indigo

Then, I got one of those newsletter emails, in my inbox, from Knitting Daily that directed me to this. Sure, it's very simple, but for those who want a very basic article on intarsia, it does the trick.

I have so many things on the go at the moment - and I'm the self-professed, one project-at-a-time woman. I'm making a suit, socks and a fingering-weight cashmere sweater. Having just written this down, I might actually start breaking out in hives.

Point is, no more new projects till I get those done. But I'm going to do my homework in the hopes that I can start a sweater with colour-work in the spring.

So, today's questions are: What are your thoughts on knitting colour-work? Which kinds have you tried and which do you prefer?

Mea Culpa

Never let it be said that I don't admit when I'm wrong change my perspective based on new information.

People, I take it back about making socks.

I can't, in good faith, continue to let you think that I hate them. In fact, having just completed the first sock of the second pair, I actually appear to be enjoying things.

A few moderating details:

• This time I modified a bunch of free, online patterns to suit my needs. The result: I'm knitting a stockinette sock with some cuff ribbing - aka as simple as it gets - in a circumference of 56 stitches rather than the standard 64. Better for my twig ankles, and I might, in future, scale down to 52. Note: Socks seem to work in repeats of 4 stitches, in my limited experience.

• I also went from using a slippery, spongy yarn with a needle having lots of traction (bamboo) to using a dense yarn with a (metal) needle having lots of slip. Repeat this mantra (at least if you're using magic loop and you're me): Less grip, more slip. 

• It's official. I hate silk in yarn. I loathe how it makes it all floppy and drapey. In a sock, anything but strong, dense and close-fitting is untenable. No joking, as I write this, my daughter is wearing her new hand-made socks and saying: You need to make more in this yarn. It's so springy and soft!

• The Regia, however, is work-horse. It barely stretches, much less grows! The stitches are so tight and tiny and I love them.

• OMG - I finally understand the appeal of variegated yarn! It's so exciting to see, with each little round, what splotch or stripe or stray little pin-prick of colour will appear next. It's like magic colouring! Is it ugly? Hell yes! But it's so unrepentant, so jubilant in its ugliness that it's hard not to forgive and forget.

• To wit, I somehow managed  to buy this:

More Regia variegated Color Twin sock yarn

• Trust me. It's a whole new level of ugly. And I'm vaguely psyched.

I can't say that many socks are in my future, but I am going to give it 3 pairs before I make up my mind.

Given that I'm half inclined to do a Sock Week series - in which I talk about various sock-related things and tell you how truly doable it is to knit a pair of them in a week - something tells me I may not be done with them. But I've accomplished this year's goal, thank you Gillian, and that's all I set out to do.

What do you think of my new yarn? Is it not 110% insane? Let's talk about what you like in a sock yarn. Variegated pattern? Cashmere? Machine-washability? I want to know!

The Spring Suit: What Cost Beauty?

You may recall, when I offered up a bit of "sewing advice" a couple of weeks ago, I suggested that using good fabric is worth its weight, literally. That's a lesson I learned long ago, when it comes to buying RTW clothing, but one I struggled with in my first year or two of sewing.

I don't struggle so much anymore. In truth, it's always a bit of a moment right before you cut into your fabric, whether it costs $3.99 a yard or $39.99. It's that point when potential becomes reality. Sometimes cutting is an easy affair. Sometimes it's a bit of a challenge. But I can't let that dictate the quality of my fabric because, really, I'm gonna have to wear that thing. More to the point, I'm gonna have to sew it for 2 months and then I'm gonna have to wear it.

Furthermore, as I've discussed in the past, making a suit is not a cheap project (particularly), though it's much more cost-effective (if not time-effective) than buying one. To buy a RTW suit of good quality, you're likely to spend at least 800 bucks (full price). Here's what I've spent to make this suit (you can find some photos of the fabrics here):

• 3 yards of merino faille suiting at $25.00/yd
• 3 yards of silk charmeuse for lining @ $18.00/yd
• 1 yard of hair canvas and 1 yard of weft interfacing - already purchased for last suit but would be $8.00 each
• 2 yards of muslin for toiles (in addition to the yard I already have) @ $4.99/yd
• 5 Self-fabric-covered buttons (sending these out to be made, approx 20 bucks)
• 2 yards silk organza for underlining @ 15.00/yd
• Notions (shoulder pads, thread, stabilizing tape etc.) $10.00

Presuming I'm not leaving something out, which is entirely possible!, my total cost to make this suit will be $215.00. That's actually slightly less costly than the last suit so I guess I'm making progress :-)

No, I didn't need to spend 18 bucks a yard on lining. That price is vaguely high on drugs (till I wear the jacket, that is). (Brief sidenote: I ended up using the most beautiful silk to line the Tailored Jacket, gifted to me by Mardel. That's when I knew I could never use anything else again...) The organza was not on the cheap side either, even in this market. However, the suiting was very reasonably priced at $25.00/yd. It's just beautiful and I suspect/hope it's going to drape beautifully (but maintain its shape). Sending out to have the buttons made, which I did last time, is a totally smart idea, and really, quite worth the expense.

I suspect you could (in America, where shopping is less expensive) make this suit out of these materials for @ $125.00, but that's not the reality here. I also know you could make a suit for closer to 100 bucks in Canada, but (unless you seriously luck out with some crazy sales the likes of which I've never seen in TO) you won't get to work with quality materials.

So... today's questions are these: If you've made a suit, what was your budget for materials? Did you stick to it or spend more to find more desirable fabrics? On that topic, do you generally budget for projects or do you let your fabric passions guide you? Have you ever regretted spending lots on fabric? Have you ever regretted not spending enough? Let's talk!

The Spring Suit: My Work Plan

Last time I made a suit, I started with a work plan. I made the suit in 6 weeks, which shocks the hell out of me, because that was a fuck of a lot of work to do in that period of time. I lived and breathed The Tailored Suit project. Every waking moment at home was spent on it (sorry, family). I worked on math elements over my lunch hour. I considered its numerous, convoluted elements as I walked to and from work. Often, I couldn't sleep for problem-solving. Seriously, at a certain point, I started dreaming about it.

It was a creative and structural undertaking of the first order and, even as I was constantly trepedatious and hateful, I LOVED it.

Last time I had an online course to see me through. Alas, it was a suboptimal course (though there was a lot of good information contained within it), but it was organized in very knowable segments. This time I'm working with a pattern having 106 steps (for the hand-tailored version S and I will make) - the fusible version has less than half that number of steps - and there are no clear segments.

Having perused this pattern, which is to say studied it with my eyes glazing over, I can see that there are some new learning opportunities:

• A notched collar - which is apparently "easy"

• Pockets (I omitted them from my last suit, but these pockets seem more in keeping with my style)

• Hand-worked buttonholes - egad?! What is it with clothes and buttons?? Mind you, I've decided, having done them in 3 projects, that I really don't like bound buttonholes. I mean, I don't like making them but, more to the point, I don't like looking at them. They're fussy, IMO.

• Slightly different construction techniques than those I've used before aligned, one supposes, with Ms. Schaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques "bible".

So, how best to plan things out?

I don't know that I want to give time lines this go round. The part of me that is so outcome-focused bristles at the thought that I might work without an end date. But the part of me that's been pretty kicked around in the last 6 months, between reno and sickness, doesn't want to be all crammed into a box.  So here's what I'm going to say right now: It's a suit for the spring. Spring, in these parts, doesn't start till April (at the earliest). So I'm aiming for an early April completion. That's 11 weeks. If it gets done sooner, well won't I be fab. If it doesn't get done on April 1, by noon EST, then I'm not going to stick my head in an oven.

And, with small amount I know of a) tailoring and b) V8333 - here's how I imagine things might break down:

1. Buy all of my materials, review the pattern, cut the pattern, prep all of my fabrics.

2. Cut the first muslin, assemble, begin the fitting excitement.

3. Spend as long as it takes, with S, to fit the muslin optimally. (Please muslin goddess, be kind.)

4. Cut the fashion fabric, lining and other materials for jacket assembly.

5. V8333 Steps 5 - 14 - Tailoring the front jacket up to pad stitching

6. V8333 Steps 15 - 24 - Tailoring the front jacket, pad stitching and other tailoring elements

7. V8333 Steps 25 - 33 - Side front tailoring and pocket insertion

8.  V8333 Steps 34 - 42 - Facing the front

9. V8333 Steps 43 - 49 - Side back, back and hem tailoring

10. V8333 Steps 50 - 62 - Constructing and tailoring the collar

11. V8333 Steps 63 - 67 - Set the collar into the jacket

12. V8333 Steps 68 - 77 Sleeves

13. V8333 Steps 69 - 81 - Sleeve lining

14. V8333 Steps 82 - 84 - Setting in the sleeves

15. V8333 Steps 85 - 88 - Shoulder pads

16. V8333 Steps 89 - 98 Lining and finishing the lining

17. V8333 Steps 99 - 105 Buttonholes and buttons

18. V8333 Step 106 - Final finishing of the jacket

19. Make a skirt or pair of pants to go with the jacket. That comes with its own 18 steps, I'm sure.

Presumably, I'll write about these steps in some kind of excessive detail, potentially with vitriol, as they occur. BTW, thank you all so much for your feedback on the question from my last post. Now I can say with confidence: You asked for it! :-)

OK, gotta go take some pics of fabric to update my last post. If only it weren't pouring with rain and approximately as dark as dusk. I'll have to make do with some serious flash.

Next post will talk a bit about my fabrics, how I chose them (rationale), how I'll deal with buttons, costs of things and I know I've got to follow up on the "Short Girlz Who Sew, Win" topic. Sorry, tall peeps, you'll just have to find your primacy in the rest of the world :-)

Today's questions: Have you made this jacket and, if so, what are your thoughts about this breakdown? If you haven't made it, what are your thoughts about this break down? What part of the jacket-making process seems most fun to you, even as a casual observer? Which part has you running for the hills? Let's talk!

Updated with Pics: Time Well Spent

Just a very quick post - as I am exhausted having started the sewing and social excursion at 10 am and finishing at 6! (I am hardcore, people.)

We had such a fun and profitable day. All fabric and notions are purchased and you know what an extensive list that is:

• UTTERLY GORGEOUS fashion fabric (3 yards of 60 inch wide as I'll be making pants or a skirt in addition to the jacket)
• underlining (silk organza, 2 yards)
• lining (silk crepe, 3 yards)
• hair canvas interfacing (1 yard)
• shoulder pads (2)
• thread (lots)
• new needles for hand sewing

Photo Update: OK, here are some pics but pls. note that the colour is not so accurate given the fact that it's January in TO and there's basically no natural light.

It's merino faille suiting- so drapey (but not too drapey to hold it's shape in a jacket). In this photo it looks slate grey. In fact it's a blue with grey undertones, not a grey with blue undertones. You can't see the depth of colour, the richness, here.

This gives a slightly better sense of the blue, if your monitor cooperates, but it still misses the depth of colour...

The lining is silk charmeuse (the other side is matte but I'm showing off the shiny) in the most bizarre shade - like green meets sand. My mother says I must have a hankering for the seaside right now, given this combo of fabric and lining. This is where I kind of broke the bank, but in keeping with my resolution when making the last suit, I will only use silk as lining until I find something I like better. It has much more integrity than bemberg, IMO, which frays like a bitch.

This isn't something you'll see, it's the underlining of the fashion fabric - some silk organza. I just think it's so pretty in this shade, so I'm showing it off...

Of course, I also had to get some denim and wool jersey while I was at it but, Lord, it seems I have stash issues cuz when S very graciously helped me to reorg the fabric cupboard to make more space for new stuff, I discovered I already had a yard of that wool jersey. Happily it's fantastic.

I also had to buy a sewing box (interesting birch stacking boxes I found at CB2) for all of my new darning supplies (on their way from various parts of the world):

Then I had to buy frames for the new pics I bought myself a while back.  Throw in some lunch and I've come to realize I am not safe with a credit card. I am such a capable shopper, it's sick.

Did I mention how useful and excellent everything all of these things will be?

OK, here's tonight's question: When organizing my fabric, it came to light that I have numerous scraps that are too small to make something with and too big to throw away. Serious fabric users, who abhor waste, would no doubt piece these gorgeous textiles together, but that's not my scene. S mentioned, as I was bemoaning half a cupboard full of unusable (really beautiful) material, that she always buys enough to make a garment twice or to get 2 items out of one piece i.e. 4 yards, on average. So she never ends up with quarter and half yard ends in weird shapes, though she does - she concedes - have lots of fabric she's not using on second garments.

What do you do? I know this is an age-old problem for the average sewist, but it's kind of a bummer either way.

As it happens, S, a font of helpfulness, assisted me by setting up an anonymous Craig's List entry so that I can, hopefully, give the bag of scraps - which includes a few full pieces of fabric I just don't like - to someone who will be able to use them. For free, of course.

In the future, I think I'm going to adopt S's strategy, if for no other reason than that my own is not working, and buy twice as much fabric as I need vs. just a bit more, so that at least the ends will be big enough to re-purpose on another garment.

Next post will contain some fascinating, IMO, musings on the benefits of being short (especially short-waisted) when you sew your own stuff. You don't want to miss that one.

Tailoring: The Spring Suit

So, my friends, the time has come, once again, when I will undertake a tailoring project aka the only thing I'll likely sew for a couple of months and which will probably test my resolve in numerous, skill-building and life-improving ways.

Lucky y'all.

I've been thinking about how to chronicle this journey, one which will be more exciting because S, my fitting friend, will make the same jacket at the same time - in something like 18 sizes smaller than me?!? - and then I'll be her fitting friend. Now S is a private person, unlike (ahem) some other people we know, so it's likely any specifics will centre on me. Happily, that works with my solopsism.

Because I did with the last suit, I don't want to drag you through the metaphoric mud. How much appetite, really, do you have to hear about a muslin, much less 3 (or 7)? And yet, as you may know, when one embarks on a tailoring activity, it is a) intense b) labour-rich c) frequently repetitive and d) requiring feedback, love, support, commiseration.

First question of the day: Do you prefer the blow-by-blow or the high points? Note to reader: I may be incapable of doing anything other than what appeals to me in the moment. I'm kind of known for that. But I would like to start this off with your perspective.

Let's get the high-level details out of the way:

The Pattern: Vogue 8333

The Claire Shaeffer Custom Couture Collection Single-Breasted Jacket

As luck would have it, my link feature is once again fucking up (why does this happen on occasion, I wonder??) so you'll have to navigate free-form, sorry.

This weekend, S and I are finally going (this has been planned for months but we have been derailed) to get all of our supplies. Do you know how long it takes simply to figure out what you need to buy??

Having done this before, I will now remind myself of the following important considerations:

• I've done this before, and I'm doing it again, so it's probably not as bad as I'm going to think it is in a month.

• I have a very short memory for project-pain.

• Beginning a large-scale project - of any description - is daunting. Trust me (she says to herself), I've planned many a complicated project in my career, in my life and when crafting and the first moment is scary. It's the point at which everything is everywhere. But my job now is to herd the sheep.

• What the fuck does that mean? It's my fancy way of describing that I need to corral my mental processes to gain my clearest awareness of all of the elements. That's how I can a) demystify them (to make me calmer) and b) work methodically to address them.

• You can't know all of the elements. Just most of them. The others you can fear quietly or wait for with the hostess spirit.

• Tailoring is alchemy and starting with a bunch of bits which turn into a finished jacket is a fine magic.

• I'm on a trajectory of skill-improvement.

Keep in mind, if you want to exercise fiscal restraint, then complicated projects are the way to go. For starters, they take a long time, so your output goes a long way. But they also tend to produce garments that would be expensive, were you to buy them, due to the workmanship that goes into creating them.

My fingering weight cashmere sweater? Still in process! A tailored suit? Merely cutting out the pattern pieces takes a week :-) I choose to view this as an example of the financial prudence I'm, no doubt, known for in these parts. :-)